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29 March 2024

Dubai's 'Rehlatna' breaks world record for longest graffiti scroll

Work in Progress: World 's Longest Graffiti Wall coming up in Dubai on November 30, 2014 (Ahmad Ardity)

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The 'Rehlatna', or 'Our Journey’, bringing together the talents of national and international graffiti artists, portraying giant falcons, Arabic calligraphy and the UAE’s most impressive landmarks to compete the world’s longest graffiti wall, have broken the Guinness World Record for the longest graffiti scroll at 2.2454km.

"The wall is in the shape of the UAE and we are going to aim for the world record for the longest graffiti wall," said Sami Mohammed, from the Crown Prince’s Office, which organised the event. "To do this, brought together 150 artists both locally and from around the world to design and create artwork that reflects the achievements of the UAE," The National daily quoted him today as saying. All the artwork associated with the wall represents the UAE’s rich culture.

Khawla Darwish, an Emirati artist from Dubai, headed a team of 33 Emirati artists and helped to curate a selection of images that have been turned into graffiti art.

"It’s wonderful to be a part of something like this because not only does it give local artists an opportunity to showcase their work but it’s being done in a way that is helping to promote the image of the UAE," she said.

 

The artists sent in their proposed designs and Darwish selected the most appropriate that would reflect the UAE’s achievements.  "We then used spray cans to do the artwork and it’s been a wonderful experience for all of us," she said.

Much of her artwork focuses on the heart and her addition to the graffiti wall is a heart with an Arabic phrase that translates to "the UAE is in my heart".